UF’s international programs have been named one of the top in the nation.
UF and four other universities received the 2018 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization on Tuesday, said Leonardo Villalón, dean of the UF International Center.
The award recognizes and encourages the universities’ efforts to increase international awareness in students and faculty, Villalón said. The other schools that got the award this year are Babson College, St. Lawrence University, Stony Brook University and Texas Tech University.
NAFSA: The Association of International Educators, a non-profit organization for professionals in international education, has been giving out the award since 2009. A maximum of five universities receives it every year.
Villalón said the non-profit is the most prestigious organization for international awareness in the U.S. This is first year UF has gotten the award, Villalón said.
“It’s one more feather in our cap as we rise to be a top five university,” he said.
NAFSA looks at the documentation and planning of international programs, specifically innovative and creative approaches, Dorothea Antonio, deputy executive director of knowledge development for the association for NAFSA, wrote in an email.
Villalón said he believes UF’s initiative created in 2014 called “Learning Without Borders” contributed to receiving the recognition. It is a five-year quality enhancement plan designed to further internationalize the undergraduate studies.
One portion of the program allows undergraduate students to add an international aspect to their studies such as studying abroad and foreign language programs, Villalón said.
UF has about 6,500 international students, Villalón said. International education is important because students will work in an international environment after graduating, so they need to start thinking about the world on a global scale instead of just the U.S.
“We want to help students develop their understanding about the world to make them more competitive in the global market and also to make our students better global citizens,” he said.
Antonio said that UF won the award because the university provides funding for study abroad and has incorporated global learning into its curriculum.
“The University of Florida was selected this year for its outstanding innovation,” she said.
Yue Yu, a UF second-year pharmacy graduate student, said she sees a lot of international aspects in her pharmacy graduate program. Yu is a 24-year-old UF international student from China.
Some of these aspects include various studying abroad trips, such as an Australia trip that Yu is attending this summer. There are also joint-programs with schools in other countries where students can collaborate on research projects, she said.
“The school is a huge university, and it’s being even more internationally recognized now,” Yu said.
